Page:Anthology of Magazine Verse (1921).djvu/100
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Seemed, in the moveless clarity of sunlight,
Some epic god directing destiny.
"So," he answered, "since you affirm yourselves as men
I shall inform you of the one and only way,
Fair to all and partial, in the end, to none,
Whereby may be chosen among us all
Those who shall go and those who shall stay!
Once more, I ask you: be you men?"
"Aye," croaked they, "we be men!"
"Then"—and here his voice rose, dominant—
"In this place and on this spot shall we remain
Until death, impartial, has weeded us,
Those who shall go from those who shall stay!"
"Those who shall go from those who shall stay!"
Echoed, in toneless notes, the broken men:
And "Those who shall go from those who shall stay!"
Reëchoed eerily the whispering jungle.
Then, like an accolade of doom, fell silence
Enfolding avidly unto its inscrutable self,
Forest, and sea, and depthless sky,
And those bowed of head, stooped of shoulder,
Standing, muted and motionless,
Before one who, with hand aloft, rendered judgment.
Some epic god directing destiny.
"So," he answered, "since you affirm yourselves as men
I shall inform you of the one and only way,
Fair to all and partial, in the end, to none,
Whereby may be chosen among us all
Those who shall go and those who shall stay!
Once more, I ask you: be you men?"
"Aye," croaked they, "we be men!"
"Then"—and here his voice rose, dominant—
"In this place and on this spot shall we remain
Until death, impartial, has weeded us,
Those who shall go from those who shall stay!"
"Those who shall go from those who shall stay!"
Echoed, in toneless notes, the broken men:
And "Those who shall go from those who shall stay!"
Reëchoed eerily the whispering jungle.
Then, like an accolade of doom, fell silence
Enfolding avidly unto its inscrutable self,
Forest, and sea, and depthless sky,
And those bowed of head, stooped of shoulder,
Standing, muted and motionless,
Before one who, with hand aloft, rendered judgment.
The BudgetArthur C. Inman
THE COBBLER IN THE MOON
I
Cobbler, cease your stitching!
Put down your awl!
I've long been waiting
Before your stall.
Put down your awl!
I've long been waiting
Before your stall.
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